Tamil Nadu   

Simplify norms for postal ballot: Government staff

Special Correspondent

CUDDALORE: Government employees, who had taken their right to vote rather lightly in the past, now feel they must exercise their franchise so as to ensure a decisive verdict.

Government employees form a considerable chunk of the electorate. Nearly one fourth of them, numbering 3.5 lakh, are being drafted for election duty at destinations far away from their native places. Till now, many of them had frittered away their voting right.

But, in a show of solidarity and to assert their rights, they have now jointly urged the Election Commission to ease the cumbersome procedures involved in casting postal ballot.

The Tamil Nadu Government Employees Union (TNGEU) has represented before the Commission, through Chief Electoral Officer Naresh Gupta.

TNGEU president K.Balasubramanian said here on Wednesday that at present, the employees had to obtain permission from polling officers to cast postal ballot. And the ballots had to reach them in time to enable them to exercise their franchise.

To overcome such problems, the TNGEU suggested that the officials hand over the postal ballots to the employees at the time of imparting poll-related training or while giving the booth allotment letters. The union said the remuneration for employees on poll duty was nominal and remained unaltered for the past 10 years. It sought doubling of the fees, besides sanctioning travelling allowance. It urged the State Government to sanction three per cent variable dearness allowance as was done by the Centre (fixed on the basis of the price indices from July 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005).

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